Any ocean going vessels have Filipino seafarers in it because they are the best and preferred seafarers. Their loneliness have to be addressed and their mental health be taken cared of. “There’s a stigma in there (mental health issue) that we, in Fareast wanted to change,” Ferias said. This means that the manning agency down to the crew must acknowledge that the mental health issue is important. Although there was no statistics on Filipino seafarers with mental illness, he said seafaring is a profession that is high risk of having mental health issues.

Source: Manila Times March 10, 2020 17:03 UTC